Asdivine Menace is a JRPG developed by Kemco, which means if you have played a JRPG developed by Kemco, you can safely assume this isn’t going to be re-inventing the wheel. Sincerely, there is no new ground being broken here. If there were a checklist of JRPG clichés – which I have in fact made for this particular game – it rings every single bell. Somewhat effeminate protagonist with silver hair? Check. Little girl characters with pink hair that trigger all kinds of Lolita Complex concerns? Check! A story that puts the protagonist in the role of universe-savior that…well… saves the universe? CHECK!
There really isn’t anything wrong with the basic formula, in fact Kemco have tread over this ground so much, that I’m pretty sure their team could make this kind of game in their sleep. The bigger problem with the game is that it is decidedly average. Painfully average. Ouch, I cut myself on how average all of this is.
It seems content to run through the motions and deliver a conventional RPG with all the elements you’d expect and complete with all the tropes. Honestly, I’m not the kind of person who harps on innovation and originality as my measuring stick for quality, but at a certain point, I really started to wonder to myself whether or not the development team was trying. I picture a red light going off in Kemco’s offices and that lets them know that they need to crank out another game and they all get started on it like slavish automatons. That being said, it’s not the worst game in the world. Fun can be had, the real problem with the game is the writing and the plot.
The story for Asdivine Menace a bit on the incomprehensible side. What I gathered from the game is that you play as a god, which sounds kind of cool, but it isn’t. You’re not a very effective god. In fact, in terms of divinity, you’re apparently the low man on the totem pole. There is even an in-game joke made by another character about how weak you are, considering the fact that you are supposedly a deity. Beyond that, there is nothing surprising. You save the multiverse. (while getting stronger and edging yourself to the power limits you should because, you know: godhood)
The game has the infamous micro-transactions as part of it, but it isn’t necessary to engaged in such shenanigans in order to finish the game, so that is good. Really, the biggest downfall of the game is how utterly underwhelming it is. Not bad. Not good. It’s the definition of “middle-of-the-road.” If you are a fan of JRPGs, you may find yourself being highly entertained and satisfied. However, if you aren’t a fan of the genre, you will certainly not be turned, and it may annoy the crap out of you how riveted it is to all the clichéd touchstones of the genre. All things considered, there is nothing new here, at the same time, it’s been done a lot worse.
Is it Hardcore?
Not really.
Not breaking any new ground while telling a less than spectacular story.
